William and Mary Athletics announced the hiring of Hillary
Fratzke as head women's lacrosse coach on Tuesday afternoon, making
her the eighth head coach in the Tribe's 44-year program
history.

Fratzke replaces Brooke Ireland, who resigned in May after two
seasons.

For the past three years, Fratzke served as an assistant under
Kelly Amonte-Hiller at Northwestern, helping coach the team to NCAA
titles in 2011 and '12, as well as a NCAA semifinals appearance
this year.

She is the seventh woman to be named a head coach at the
Division I level after playing or coaching under Amonte-Hiller,
joining Acacia Walker (Boston College), Alexis Venechanos (Ohio
State), Lindsey Munday (USC), Sarah Albrecht (New Hampshire),
Angela McMahon (UMass), Shannon Smith (Hofstra) and Ann Elliot
(Colorado).

“I could not be more excited to join the family
at William and Mary,” Fratzke said. “I felt
extremely welcomed by everyone in the athletic department from day
one and I am looking forward to hitting the ground running.
It is an incredible opportunity to coach at an institution that
combines such strong academics with a culture of athletic
success. I’d like to thank Kelly Amonte-Hiller and the
Northwestern University Athletic Department for providing me with
the experience, knowledge and tools to drive a successful
program. I would also like to thank [W&M Athletics
Director] Terry Driscoll and the rest of the Tribe staff for
putting their complete faith in me as the leader of the
women’s lacrosse program.”

While coaching at NU, Fratzke had a lead role in
coordinating all aspects of the Wildcats program, including
training sessions, film study, recruiting, program operations and
marketing. She also coached extensively in Northwestern’s
national youth camps and clinics and served as a liaison with
Northwestern Lacrosse's booster club.

“Hillary is an enthusiastic and charismatic
leader who brings great knowledge and incredible positivity to a
program,” commented Amonte-Hiller, who has won seven NCAA
titles at Northwestern. “She has a great knack to
inspire her players, and I think she will do an amazing job.
We couldn’t be more excited for her to get the opportunity to
head the William and Mary program.”

Fratzke joined Northwestern’s staff after an
exceptional playing career at Towson in which she earned IWLCA
All-America honors three times and ranked fourth in NCAA
women’s lacrosse history in draw controls (327).
Additionally, Fratzke, a four-time All-Colonial Athletic
Association selection, was a two-time Tewaaraton Trophy nominee and
garnered CAA Player of the Year honors in 2008 and 2010.

A native of Centreville, Md., Fratzke played in 72
games for Towson with 70 starts. She tallied 199 goals and 63
assists during her career, both of which rank third all-time in
program history, while her 262 points is second in the Tiger record
book. Fratzke also sits atop the Towson career leaders in ground
balls (193), draw controls (327) and caused turnovers (144).

Fratzke helped lead Towson to back-to-back CAA titles
in 2008 and 2009, as the Tigers qualified for the NCAA tournament
three consecutive seasons from 2008-10. She was honored in 2010 by
being named to the CAA’s 25th Anniversary Team.

Fratzke recorded a point in 70 consecutive games
while notching a goal in 64-straight contests, the second-longest
streak in NCAA history. As a junior, she netted a career-best 62
goals and 24 assists en route to being named a first-team IWLCA
All-American, the CAA Player of the Year and a Tewaaraton Trophy
nominee.

A CAA Scholar-Athlete and the 2010 Towson
Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Fratzke is pursuing a master’s
degree in biology from Towson after attaining her bachelor's degree
in the same field.